


Nice to meet you

by EvilReceptionistOfDoom



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Babel Trek Open Project (Star Trek), Betazoid, Episode: s01e01 Caretaker, Starfleet Academy teaches in English, a more-realistic Universal Translator, shared language is totally a door to becoming friends, suddenly the role of a communications officer becomes way more important
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-25 13:55:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22497202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilReceptionistOfDoom/pseuds/EvilReceptionistOfDoom
Summary: Three scenes from "Caretaker" that might have gone a little - or a lot - differently without the UT:Janeway meets Chakotay, Harry meets B'Elanna, and Voyager meets Neelix.Alternate title: So that's what Neelix's name means!
Comments: 26
Kudos: 45
Collections: The Babel Trek Open Project





	Nice to meet you

When the Maquis delegation beamed aboard Voyager, Captain Janeway held out a hand and ordered everyone, bridge crew and Maquis alike, to put down their weapons. She walked up to the group and held out a hand to Chakotay. "I confess, I was relieved to learn you speak English. I wasn't sure, since our records said you were born in one of the colonies..."

"I have family in North America," he replied, shaking her hand. "And I went to Starfleet Academy. Surely your records showed that, as well."

"Of course. But not everyone who attends the Academy ends up totally fluent in English. And the Maquis-"

"We use English nearly as often as we use Bajoran. Which is fortunate, because my Bajoran isn't very good." Chakotay's eyes twinkled, and Janeway couldn't help but grin. Maquis or otherwise, she had already decided that she liked this man.

"Where does your family live, on Earth?" she asked, more warmly. "I'm from North America, myself."

"Ohio, Arizona. Some in Panama. I've only visited a few times. You?"

"Indiana. I grew up there. But I've visited Arizona - the Grand Canyon. I have family in Ohio, too. Maybe our relatives know each other."

Chakotay smiled at this. He would have said more, but Tuvok interrupted any further small talk. Stepping forward, he said in English with only a slight Vulcan accent, "Captain, perhaps we should return to the matter at hand."

"Of course." Janeway gave Chakotay a helpless smile, making a mental note to continue the conversation later, once things had calmed down. The revelation that was about to happen would surely stir them up considerably. "Mr. Tuvok, it's good to have you back aboard."

\---

Harry Kim awoke in an alien hospital to find himself alone with a Klingon. His instant response was panic. Frantically, foggy-headed, he fumbled for what little Klingon he had retained from high school, when he'd taken a six-week extension course in the language. "Um- uh- nuq-nuqneH- Uh- P-p-pongwIjo- pongwIj 'oH Harry-"

"Que?" The woman turned and glared at him. "Are you trying to speak Klingon?"

Harry was so startled that he could only nod.

"Hey, I went to the Academy, too, Starfleet." She looked around the room and growled a curse - not in Klingon, but in - and Harry wasn't totally sure about this, but he'd had a roommate at the Academy studying Earth languages who'd taught him a long list of fun curse words in different tongues, so he was mostly sure - in Spanish.

"You're- Human?" Harry stuttered.

"Half. What's your problem? Help me find a way to get out of here."

\---

"Who's the ship's linguist?" Janeway asked urgently. 

"It was Lieutenant Stadi, Captain," said Ensign Baker, the second-shift communications officer and the most senior communications staff member still alive.

"Damn." Janeway looked at the viewscreen, where an alien was glaring at them, holding his ship's video input up to his face and babbling angrily. "Baker, tell me the Universal Translation Algorithm has gathered enough data to give us some idea of what this creature is saying."

"The computer's still working on it."

"Do we have any other empaths on the crew?"

"One, a Betazoid, Ensign Jurot. She's in the physics lab."

"Get her up here. Now."

Five minutes later a young woman with dark hair came hurrying into the bridge. "Captain," she began, "I'm not- I can't-"

"Can you sense anything about that alien?"

Ensign Jurot glanced nervously at the spotted, long-haired, fork-nosed humanoid on the viewscreen. "Well, yes- he's- he's feeling territorial- and- and a little afraid. I think. Captain, I'm not trained in diplomatic-"

"Consider this your training. Baker, activate the Translation Algorithm."

A mechanical voice, modulated to approximate that of the alien and delayed by about half a second from the alien's babbling, rang out over the bridge. The words were stilted and emotionless, and it was clear that the Translation Algorithm was only translating about a third of the alien's words. "Stupid. Long wait for talk. Mine. First. Mine. Stupid leave mine."

"For God's sake," muttered Janeway. "No wonder we never use this thing. Ensign Jurot, can you somehow indicate to the alien that we mean him- them- it- no harm?"

Jurot's brow furrowed. "I'm really not very good at-"

"Try."

The Betazoid sighed unhappily and bit her lip, looking at the alien on the screen. She focused on his mind, the way that Betazoid children did when sending messages, but rather than transmit words, she attempted to transmit images. She had never been a particularly gifted telepath, but she could appreciate the captain's situation: she knew that every ship needed at least one linguist to communicate with other species since the computer's translations were never sufficient, and that the linguist was usually at least partially empathic or telepathic, to help with interpreting nuance and avoiding misunderstandings. With Lieutenant Stadi dead, and no other Betazoids or similarly-gifted crew aboard, Captain Janeway didn't have an alternative. But Jurot was a cosmologist! Why, she'd only been aboard because Voyager was probably going to have to traverse the Bajoran Badlands, she thought. She studied plasmas, not- not alien languages!

For all her doubts, however, Jurot must have succeeded, because the alien on the screen suddenly straightened his posture and set the video input he was holding down on an unseen surface, slightly askew. He frowned, and Jurot said, feeling just a little more confident, "He's confused, but he understands that we've sent him a telepathic message. You might be able to explain the translator to him now."

Here goes nothing, Janeway thought. "Greetings," she said. "I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Federation starship Voyager. We did not mean to trespass on your territory." She looked to Baker for confirmation, and the Ensign gave a thumbs up. 

"It's working," he said. "I think."

A second later the alien replied, and the computer relayed its translation. "Hello. Thing is called. Understand small misunderstanding, no trouble being here. Desire."

Janeway could not restrain an irritated sigh. She looked expectantly at Jurot.

"He's... he's intrigued. And actually quite friendly. I- I think he may be used to encountering unfamiliar aliens - he didn't seem perplexed or impatient about the translator at all, once he knew what was happening. In fact, he's eager to know more."

"As am I, if this damn thing would actually work," Janeway muttered. To the alien she said, "Can you tell us your name? Are you from this region of space?"

"This thing is called," the computer translated, agonizingly slow; this time the alien's words included a decent approximation of 'Kathryn Janeway', which the captain hoped meant the translator was working. A moment later, though, her hopes were disappointed. "Hello. Explain meaning Kathryn Janeway. This thing not native this space, but this thing this space known very detailed knowledge."

"It's not giving us his name," Janeway growled. "The damn computer thinks it's another word and it's not translating it."

"Sorry, Captain... it's, uh, a common problem," said Baker. "That or it translates the name like a word. Proper nouns are... difficult."

"Jurot, I'm about to do this introduction the old-fashioned way. Try to help the meaning get across." The captain tapped her own chest. "Janeway," she said. "This thing is called Janeway." She pointed at him. "What are you called?"

"Neelix," the alien said. A half second later the computer appended, "Large thing."

"I'll have the computer filter for the word Neelix, Captain," said Baker. "That should solve the problem. Unless we run into anything big..."

"Thank you, Ensign Baker. Finally we're getting somewhere." To the alien, Neelix, she said, "We have been transported to this region of space from the opposite side of the galaxy. We have need of a guide. Would you be willing to help?"

The computer whirred for a long time before spitting out something vaguely similar in sound to Neelix's language. The alien cocked his head. 

"He's uncertain," said Jurot. "I'm not sure if-" Before she could finish, the alien began speaking again, and the computer dutifully translated.

"This ship small too small. This ship Janeway ship cannot fit inside. Janeway this thing gives advice, Janeway needs Neelix ship, much Neelix. Neelix perhaps guide not best Janeway choice."

"It's- it's likely that 'guide' has multiple meanings in his language," said Baker.

"I think I got that." Janeway looked back at the viewscreen and resisted throwing something at it. This was going to be a long conversation.


End file.
